A Sister's Desire
by EvanSol0919
Summary: In the deepest part of her soul, in the back of her mind that she refused to listen to… Karin had always known the truth. But she didn't want to believe it. Because that meant that she would never be able to protect him the way he protected her.


So after watching the latest episode, I paused and thought about what Karin had said about how it was her turn to protect her brother and then an idea came to me: what would she do if she saw a little of the current battle and this is what I came up with!

Let me know what you think!

Own nothing.

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Karin tried to run after her brother but the stairs had been destroyed.

What was going on?

Ichi-nii had come home well after midnight then attacked his own cousin! It made no sense. Then when he had arrived at Shuu-chan's mansion, the one where they had spent countless days playing with their older relative, Ichi-nii just bolted out of the room!

A breaking chandelier was accompanied by a large booming noise that sounded like a wall had been destroyed.

More sounds were heard, grunts and screams… ones that were clear indicators of fighting… sounds she hadn't heard in almost two years.

Despite her own panic, Karin felt a sense of excitement. Not excitement in the sense that she wanted to be involved in a fight but that this was her chance.

"_This is it. Now I can protect my brother. It's my turn."_

She then ran outside, the explosions continuing all around her. She didn't know what she would be protecting Ichi-nii from, even if it meant protecting him from himself, but this way he would not be in any danger.

Karin ran further into the woods, the mansion now out of view. Booms and blasts seemed to come from every direction. Instead, the dark haired girl tried to hone in on the spiritual auras of the others. Shuu-chan and his friends were nearby, as was Orihime-chan and Sado-kun but there was one more that felt… that felt…

No. That was impossible. It couldn't happen. Never again. She wouldn't allow it.

A sudden movement crossed her eyes and she immediately looked up to see what she never expected to see again.

Shinigami.

There was a small group of them, Rukia-chan and Toushirou among them, along with the red pineapple guy and the bald one that she had seen around Karakura Town, as well as two other men wearing the same white coats as Toushirou, signifying that they were captains.

"_What are __they__ doing here?"_

Strangely enough, Karin felt anger more than anything else. Why did they come back? Hadn't they involved Ichi-nii in enough of their schemes? Why couldn't they just leave him alone? He had fought enough. He deserved to live in peace.

A flash of bright blue light caught her attention. The middle school student turned to see a great wave of energy rip through the sky, seemingly cutting it in half.

It was as breathtaking as it was terrifying.

And the wielder of such power was a tall, peach skinned man with unmistakable orange hair that blazed against the black backdrop of the nighttime sky.

It was Ichi-nii, dressed in the black robes of a soul reaper and a ridiculously large sword in hand.

But it wasn't the outfit or even the fact that he was floating in the air that held her gaze. It was his expression.

He was calm, focused and… and… _happy_.

Karin then began to smile and cry at the same time.

It was ironic. The time when he brother was most alive was when he was a death god.

Of course she wanted her brother to be happy but why did it have to be like this? Why couldn't _she_ protect _him_? Why wasn't she strong enough?

In the deepest part of her soul, in the back of her mind that she refused to listen to… she had always known the truth.

These last seventeen months had been torturous for Ichi-nii. He _wanted_ to fight. He _wanted_ power. He _wanted_ to protect.

But she didn't _want_ to believe it.

Because that meant he would always be in danger. Because that meant that the battles would never end. Because that meant that he _needed_ the fights in order to feel that his life had meaning.

And because that meant that despite the power she had acquired, it would never be enough. She would always be weaker. She would never be able to protect him the way he protected her.

"_But maybe that's ok."_

As long as Ichi-nii was happy, that was all that mattered.

Even as his sister's heart broke in two.

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So many of these stories are kind of depressing, aren't they? Like I said, I was curious about what she said to Urahara. About how she wanted Ichigo to live in peace and how she wanted to protect him so watching this battle would have had to have hurt.

It didn't hurt that I like Karin (especially with Toushirou ;)

At least there was no Ichi/Ruki this time.

(Sigh) Back to the papers…

Anyway, please comment.

Love from, EvanSol0919!


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